House Republicans plan debt ceiling vote

House Republicans will vote next week on a bill that would raise the nation’s debt ceiling for three months and stop pay for members of Congress if the Senate doesn’t pass a budget, GOP officials said Friday.

The plan comes as GOP lawmakers across the country signal that they should not use the debt ceiling to try to extract concessions on spending from President Barack Obama, especially as the president’s approval ratings far outpace those of congressional Republicans.

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Obama: No ‘ransom’ for raising debt ceiling

It’s also a shift from House Speaker John Boehner, who has previously demanded spending cuts to match any debt ceiling hike. But Boehner isn’t retreating on the debt ceiling without conditions; He’s framing this as a way to force Senate Democrats to lay out a budget, which they haven’t done for three years.

Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated they were pleased the GOP is moving towards action on the debt ceiling, but didn’t endorse Boehner’s plan.

“The president has made clear that Congress has only two options: pay the bills they have racked up, or fail to do so and put our nation into default,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement. “We are encouraged that there are signs that congressional Republicans may back off their insistence on holding our economy hostage to extract drastic cuts in Medicare, education and programs middle class families depend on. Congress must pay its bills and pass a clean debt limit increase without further delay.”

Reid called the House plan “reassuring.”

“It is reassuring to see Republicans beginning to back off their threat to hold our economy hostage,” Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson said. “If the House can pass a clean debt ceiling increase to avoid default and allow the United States to meet its existing obligations, we will be happy to consider it.

“As President Obama has said, this issue is too important to middle class families’ economic security to use as a ploy for collecting a ransom,” Jentleson added. “We have an obligation to pay the bills we have already incurred — bills for which many House Republicans voted.”

The strategy here is not foreign. Republicans are trying to force the Democratic Senate to lay out its spending priorities — they haven’t passed their own budget in years, and it’s unclear if they’ll do so this year. And it also falls in line with a new mantra leadership has been trying to instill in its membership: we do not control Washington, and cannot force the president’s hand.

That’s why this is unlikely to be the final solution to the debt ceiling, which must be raised by the end of February or March.

Larger questions remain; Because the bill wouldn’t include immediate spending cuts, House conservatives could vote against this proposal and a final deal to raise the debt ceiling. And while the bill would withhold lawmakers’ pay, that could run afoul of the 27th Amendment, which says any congressional pay increase or cut can’t take affect until the next Congress begins.

Boehner unveiled the plan to fellow House Republicans on Friday, positioning it as a way to force the Senate to pass a budget.

“A long-term increase in the debt limit that is not preceded by meaningful and responsible reductions in government spending might avert a default, but it would also invite a downgrade of our nation’s credit that damages our economy, hurts families and small businesses, and destroys jobs,” Boehner said, according to excerpts released by his office.

That line of thinking — that further brinksmanship on the fiscal cliff could cause economic distress — has been on full display this week in Washington.

Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) on Thursday said there would be no doubt the debt ceiling will be raised. “We will raise the debt ceiling. We’re not going to default on our debt,” Cornyn said in Houston. “I will tell you unequivocally, we’re not going to default.”

Earlier this week, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she didn’t want the debt ceiling to be used as political leverage to cut government spending.

“If you incur an obligation, you have a responsibility to pay for that,” she said.